This invention relates to floor panels for "access" or elevated floors in which individual panels may be removed by the user to gain access to the area located beneath the surface of the floor. Access floors are used in a variety of applications, particularly in rooms which house computer equipment. Such rooms require a stable floor surface which can both support the sensitive equipment as well as provide easy access for the cabling associated with peripheral devices, user terminals and other equipment. The space beneath the access floor may also serve as a distribution plenum in an air conditioning system.
In general, access floor panels known in the prior art display several disadvantages. For example, the panel must achieve a sufficiently high strength to weight ratio so that it may bear its load without collapsing. In addition, the loaded panel should produce small deflections in order to maintain a substantially flat floor surface. Finally, the cost of the finished product is a function of the complexity of the design and the associated tooling or processing required to fabricate it. Thus, a simplified structure may result in significant cost reduction.